Door control mechanism



March 14, 1961 L. E. SKEEN DOOR CONTROL MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 11, 1959 March 14, 1961 L. E. SKEEN 2,974,831

DOOR CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Feb. 11, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY i m m Patented Mar. 14, i961 ice DGQR CONTROL MECHANISM Lawrence E. Sheen, Springfield, Ohio, assignor to The Bauer Brothers Company, Springfield, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Feb. 11, 1959, Ser. No. 792,648

13 Claims. (Cl. 222-171) This invention relates to a door closure mechanism and more particularly to a closure unit for a revolving drum operable to provide automatic selective opening and closing of the drum at predetermined intervals.

The invention will be particularly described herein with reference to its application to the revolving drum of a peanut or coffee roaster but it will be readily apparent to those versed in the art that the invention and its application is not so limited, nor is such intended.

Peanut and cofiee roasters which have revolving drums are often affiicted with functional difiiculties and maintenance problems which are directly related to their closure units. For example, conventionally the closure unit for the revolving drum, and thereby for the roaster, comprises a spring biased door having separate controls for opening and closing thereof. In normal operation of the roaster the drum must be charged and the contents discharged at frequent intervals, while the drum continues to revolve. This necessitates frequent opening and closing of the door which results in rapid fatigue of its biasing springs and a consequent reduction of the elliciency of the door as a closure element. Leakage of the drum contents soon follows. This is highly undesirable from the standpoint of economy and efliciency. Moreover, the use of separate controls for opening and closing the door creates a complex expensive control sys tem which is diflicult to maintain at peak efliciency. Poor control of timing in the roasting procedure can seriously affect product quality. Thus, many problems are evident which require an efiective solution.

The present invention particularly solves the above problems and improves the nature of closure systems available for application to revolving housings such as the drums provided in peanut and cofiee roasters. Invention embodiment provides a simple closure mechanism which is automatically operative to selectively seal a revolving drum or provide openings therefrom while the drum is in operation. The invention insures fast and eflicient charging and discharging of a revolving drum. It also reduces functional and maintenance problems related to closure units for revolving drums to a minimum.

A primary objects of the invention is to provide im proved closure mechanism particularly advantageous in application to a revolving housing which is simple and economical to fabricate, more efiicient and satisfactory in use, adaptable to a wide variety of applications and requires a minimum of maintenance in operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved closure unit for peanut or cofiee toasters and the like which have revolving housings, adaptable for selective, precisely timed opening and closing thereof in automatic fashion.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved system for effecting controlled discharge from a revolving drum.

An additional object of the invention is to provide improvements in the art of automatically and selectively dispensing materials from a revolving unit.

Another object of the invention is to improve peanut and colfee roasting procedures by providing a more effective discharge mechanism for the roasters.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a controlled closure system which can automatically function to selectively open and close a housing at predetermined intervals possessing the advantageous structural features, the inherent meritorius characteristics and the mode of operation herein described.

A further object of the invention is to provide a door closure mechanism possessing the advantageous structural features, the inherent meritorius characteristics and the mode of operation herein mentioned.

With the above and other incidental objects in view as will more fully appear in the specification, the invention intended to be protected by Letters Patent consists of the features of construction, the parts and combinations thereof, and the mode of operation as hereinafter described or illustrated in the accompanying drawings, or their equivalents.

Referring to the accompanying drawing wherein is shown one but obviously not necessarily the only form of embodiment of the invention,

Fig. l is a front elevation of a closure system in accordance with the invention, partially broken away to enable a schematic presentation of the control mechanism therefor; V

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view of the closure system of Fig. 1 shown partially in section;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevation view of the system of Fig. 1 showing the closure elements thereof in the open position;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the control mechanism shown in Fig. 1 illustrating details thereof; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view illustrating functional detail of the control mechanism of Fig. l with respect to the closure apparatus illustrated.

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the several views.

Only so much of a roaster unit will be described as is essential to the disclosure of the present invention. The conventional roaster unit is commonly provided with a drum unit having means defining an opening at least at one end thereof.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention provides a base shell 1 having the general shape of a frustrum of a right cone which is adapted to have its annular base 2 fixed to define the opening from the drum of a peanut roaster or the like. Any suitable means may be employed to sealingly connect the base 2 to the drum proper. The shell 1 thereby becomes an intergral part of the drum and will revolve therewith in operation.

The conical surface of the shell 1 has a 45 slope. Four openings 3 are provided circumferentially of the shell 1 intermediate its extremities. The openings 3 are uniformly slightly smaller in size than the areas of the shell spacing the openings. The base 2 afiords an external flange 4 which is provided with an annular channel or recess 5 in its outermost face.

The shell 1 is uniformly tapered from its base 2 but has its outermost extremity externally modified to provide a cylindrical end portion 6. An integral plate 7 bridges the modified extremity of the shell 1 parallel to the base thereof.

An outer shell 8 having the same general configuration of the frustrum of a right cone bearingly mounts about the shell 1 intermediate its base 2 and its cylindrical end portion 6. The innermost extremity of the shell 8 abuts the outer surface of the flange 4 at its inner periphery while its outermost extremity is modified to follow the cylindrical contour of the surface 6 of the shell 1 and bear on the innermost portion thereof. A lock ring 9 mounts about the outermost portion of the surface 6 of the shell 1 and is fixed thereto by screws to bearingly contain the shell 8 at its outer extremity. The shell 8 is thus contained in bearing relation about the shell 1 so that it may be rotated relative thereto, confined in predetermined relation to the shell 1 by the base 2 and the lock ring 9. The outer shell 8 is provided with openings 11 of a size identical to the openings 3 in the shell 1 in relative circumferential alignment therewith.

. At its base abutting the flange 4 on the shell 1, the shell 8 is provided with an external flange 10 having its surface opposite the flange 4 stepped outwardly therefrom for purposes to be further described.

. The annular channel in the outer face of the flange 4 is defined by an innermost surface 12 bounded by concentrically spaced relatively inner and outer surfaces 13 and 14. Fixed to the innermost surface 12 of the channel 5, abutting the surface 14 and spaced 180 apart, are a pair of release shoes 15 having a ramp surface 16 to either end. Fixed to the innermost surface 12 of the channel 5 abutting the surface 13, 180 apart and shifted 90 relative the position of the release shoes 15, are a further pair of release shoes 19 which have a ramp surface 26 to either end. The shoes 15 and 19 are thus concentrically-and circularly spaced.

On the inner surface of the external flange on the outer'shell 8, opposite the channel 5 and defining a path parallel to the circumferential path of the release shoes 15, are fixed a pair of stop shoes 22 at positions 180 apart. The stop shoes 22 each have a ramp surface 23 to the following end and a right angled surface 24 to the leading end. Spaced concentrically inwardly of shoes 22 on the surface of the external flange 10 opposite the circumferential path of the innermost release shoes 19 and spaced 180 apart at positions displaced 45 from the positions of the stop shoes 22 are further stop shoes 25 which are similarly formed.

Control mechanism 26 is provided in operative relation to the stop and release shoes on the opposed faces of the external flanges 10 and 4 whereby to control their relative disposition at timed intervals. The mechanism 26 constitutes an indexing mechanism mounted to the frame of the roaster adjacent its revolving drum. The frame, schematically illustrated by a plate 27 in Fig. l of the drawings, mounts spaced stop pins 28 and 22 respectively spaced from opposite edges of a generally triangular pivot plate 30 which is pivotally mounted to plate 7 by pivot pin 31 which is triangularly positioned to one side and intermediate pins 28 and 29. The plate 30 expands from the pivot 31 to one side of the stops 2% and 29 to its outer end to the other side thereof. Connected to the expanded base of the plate 30 at respectively opposed positions are one end of a spring 32, anchored to the plate 27 at its other end, and one end of a link 33 pivotally related thereto and pivotally connected to the core of a solenoid 34. 'The spring 32 exerts a bias to pivot the plate 30 to the stop pin 28 while the solenoid 34, when energized, as illustrated, exerts an opposite force to cause the plate 30 to abut the pin 29. An arm 35 connects to a pivot pin 40 at one end, centrally of the expanded base of plate 30, intermediate the connecting points of the spring 32 and the link 33. The other end of arm 35, with a pin 36 projecting from opposite sides, is disposed intermediate the external flanges on the shells 1 and 8. The pin 36 projects at right angles to arm 35, respectively in channel 5 and to flange 10, adapted to be disposed in the direct path of the Stop and release shoes thereon as will be described. A' spring 37 connects at one end to a bracket 38 on the convergent extremity of plate 30 and at its other end to a bracket 39 intermediate the extremities of arm 35. The spring 37 applies a bias to arm 35 to hold it to either side of a dead center position, dependent on the position of plate 30. v

Fig. 1 of the drawings shows the solenoid 34 in an energized condition with shells 1 and 8 disposed to have 4 their openings 3 and 11 in a closed position. Under these circumstances pivot 40 on plate is to one side of the spring 37 which thereby is positioned to hold the cam follower pin 36 to bear to the inner cylindrical surface 13 in the channel 5 of the flange 4 of the shell 1 as it revolves with roaster drum to which it connects. The nature and function of the control mechanism 26 can be best understood by a description of its operation in relation to the shells 1 and 8. With the control elements in the position referred to and indicated in the drawings in Fig. l, the shells 1 and 8, frictionally related, are rotating conjointly with the roaster drum with their respective openings closed. The closure provided by shells 1 and 8 can be opened by opening the switch of the sole noid 34. As this occurs the spring 32 causes an unsetting of the solenoid effecting a displacement of the pivot 40 to an opposite side of the spring 37. The spring 37, as a dead center position of the arm is passed inthis action, causes the arm to move pin 36 from the surface 13 to the opposite surface 14 in the channel 5 of the shell 1. As the shells 1 and 8 continue to revolve together the right angled surface 24 on a stop shoe 22 connected to the outer edge of flange 10 on the outer shell 8 comes into contact with one projecting end of the cam follower pin 36. This interrupts the movement of the shell 8 with the shell 1, which continues to revolve with the connected roaster drum. The holding of the shell 8 by the stop shoe 22 is suflicient in time to cause the outer shell 8 to stop until the discharge openings 3 and 11 in the shell elements are in alignment, whereupon a release shoe 15 mounted in the channel 5 in adjacent parallel circumferential alignment with the stop shoe 22 will advance and engage the other projecting end of cam follower pin 36 to radially displace it and release it from the stop shoe as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. On this occuring the shells 1 and 8 once more are free to revolve conjointly to maintain the apertures 3 and 11 in alignment for discharge of the drum contents therethrough as the drum is revolving until the solenoid 34 is suitably energized to displace the plate 30 to abut pin 29. This causes the pivot point 40 to once more pass a dead center position to cause the spring 37 to hold cam follower pin 36 against the inner surface 13 on the flange 4 and the comparable inner surface provided by the step on the flange 10 whereupon the stop shoe 25 on the flange 10 of the shell 8 will engage the cam follower to prevent the shell 8 from revolving with the shell 1 until there is a-relative sliding movement to close the openings 3 and 11 in the shell elements. As the openings are covered a release shoe 19 on the flange 4 within the channel 5 to the inner cylindrical surface 13 will engage the cam follower pin 36 to'release the stop shoe and permit both sections to revolve together once more with their openings covered. 7

It may be readily seen that a very simple and efli'ective mechanism is provided for automatically controlling the shell elements 1 and 8 to provide for selective opening or closing thereof in a particular timed relation so that automatic charging and discharging may be effected without interrupting the revolving drum. The apparatus is simple, automatic, positive and effective in all instances. The simplicity of the single control structure reduces cost to a minimum and insures an eflicient economical operation of the unit. The frictional containment of the outer shell 8 relative the shell 1 insures their conjoint relation until interruption at a desired instant by actuation of the control mechanism of the closure apparatus. Thus it may be seen that a closure unit of a highly advantageous nature is provided by the invention which has multiple application and advantage.

From the above description it will be apparent that there is thus provided a device of the character described possessing the particular features of advantage before enumerated as desirable, but which is obviously susceptible of modification in its form, proportions, detail construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the principle involved or sacrificing any of its advantages.

While in order to comply with the statute the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to structural features, it is to be understood that the invention is not hmited to the specific features shown, but that the means and construction herein disclosed comprise but one of several modes of putting the invention into effect, and the invention is therefore claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope of tthe appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Closure apparatus for a revolving housing including a shell for fixed relation to the revolving housing to form an extension thereof, a second shell contained in bearing relation to said first shell, circumferentially aligned openings in said shells of a similar nature, means containing said second shell for conjoint movement with said first shell and means for interrupting the movement of said second shell for predetermined intervals to automatically and selectively provide alignment of said openings or to relatively displace and thereby close said openings.

2. Door closure apparatus particularly applicable to a revolving drum including a first apertured closure means adapted to be fixed to said drum about an opening therein, second similarly apertured closure means bearing on said first means to normally have the apertured portion thereof in a relatively displaced position with respect to the apertured portion of said first closure means to normally provide a seal thereof and means operatively interconnecting said closure means selective- 1y providing for conjoint or differential movement thereof for selected intervals to selectively provide an opening from or closure of the drum opening.

3. Closure apparatus for application to a drum type housing having means defining an opening at one end including a first tapered shell for fixing to the housing about the means defining the opening therein, said shell having spaced openings therein, a second shell bearing on said first shell having spaced openings therein, means containing said second shell in a predetermined bearing relation to said first shell to provide conjoint rotation thereof, said shells having external flanges in adjacent relation and means connected in operative relation to said flanges to provide for difierential or conjoint rotation of said shells in automatic fashion to selectively provide alignment of or relative displacement of the openings in said shells.

4. Door closure apparatus particularly applicable to a revolving drum including a first shell generally conical in cross-section for fixed relation at its base about the opening in said drum, apertures in said first shell, a second shell mounted over said first shell similar in form and in bearing relation thereto, means on said first shell containing said second shell in predetermined relation thereto for selective conjoint or relative movement thereof, said containing means including an external flange on said first shell, said second shell having an external flange opposite and relatively spaced from the external flange on said first shell, cam means in circularly spaced opposed relation on said flanges and means operatively related to said cam means for selectively providing movement of one of said shells relative the other as they conjointly revolve whereby to align the apertures in said shells to provide for discharge from the drum or relatively displace the apertures to provide a seal of the drum.

5. Door closure apparatus for a revolving drum including a shell for fixing to a drum to define the opening therefrom and form an extension thereof, a second shell contained in bearing relation about said first shell for normal rotation therewith to normally close the opening to the drum, said shells having relatively opposed flange portions, control means mounted to said. respective flange portions, and means operatively related to said control means for selectively providing relatively displacement of said shells at intervals for effecting access for automatic charging of and discharging from the drum.

6. Closure apparatus including a pair of relative concentn'cally related shell elements in relatively bearing relation having circumferentially aligned openings, means retaining said shell elements, one relative the other, to enable conjoint movement thereof, and means operatively connecting to said shell elements for automatically and selectively adjusting their relative bearing disposition in predetermined sequence during conjoint movement thereof to selectively provide a seal therebetween or access therethrough by selective alternate positioning of the openings in said shell elements.

7. Closure apparatus including a first tapered shell element having an external flange at its base for fixed relation to a housing to define an opening therefrom, a second shell bearing on said first shell having means defining an opening therein adapted to align with the opening from the housing, ring means fixed to said first shell and containing said second shell in bearing relation to said flange on said first shell to one end, said flange having a channel therein including circularly spaced and radially displaced release shoes, said second shell having relatively opposed circularly spaced stop shoes fixed thereto and control means operatively related to said stop shoes and release shoes to provide for automatic predetermined displacement of said second shell relative said first shell to selectively align or displace the second shell openings relative the housing opening.

8. Closure apparatus including a pair of shells nested for conjoint or relative rotation having similar apertures therein, means defining a control channel in at least one of said shells, a control pin bearing in said channel and operatively related to the other of said shells, control means connected to said pin to bias it to a predetermined position relative said channel and means on said other shell and in said channel operatively related to said pin for control of one of said'shells on rotation thereof for selective relative displacement of said shells and automatic interruption of said relative displacement to selectively align or'displace the apertures in said shells.

9. The structure as set forth in claim 8 wherein said means on said other shell and in said channel constitute stop and release shoes sequentially cooperating with said pin.

10. Closure apparatus including nested shells apertured and mounted for conjoint or relative rotation,-said shells having adjacent flanges, stop shoes circularly and radially spaced on one of said flanges, release shoes circularly and radially spaced on the other of said flanges and means selectively engaged by said stop and release shoes for selective interruption of conjoint rotation of one of said shells to align the apertures thereof or to relatively displace said apertures for closure thereof.

11. The structure as set forth in claim 10 characterized by said means selectively engaged by said stop or release shoes constituting a spring tensioned and spring positioned cam follower.

12. Door closure apparatus, including a rotating inner shell, an outer shell frictionally held to said inner shell in superposed relation thereto to rotate normally therewith, said inner and outer shells having openings aligned and misaligned by relative angular rotation of said shells, stop means selectively inter-posed in the path of rotation of said outer shell to interrupt rotation thereof, and means on said inner shell to disable said stop means after a predetermiened extent of independent rotation of said inner shell.

13. Door closure apparatus, including a rotatable inner shell, an outer shell frictionally held to said inner shell superposed relation thereto to rotate normally there with, said inner and outer shells having openings aligned and misaligned by angular rotation of said shells, stops carried by said outer shell in circumferential spaced apart concentric series, means selectively interposed/in the path of one of said concentric series of stops to interrupt rotation of said outer shell, and cams on said inner shell in corresponding circumferential spaced apart concentric series to disable said selectively interposed 8 means after apredetermi'ned extent of independent r01 tationo'f said inner shell. i

References Cited 'in the file ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS l r 1,251,602 White Ian. 1, 1918 1,420,222 Schmidt June 20,1922 2,598,227 Constantine May 27, 1952 

